It all started with the Altoid photo album. Next thing I knew, I was contemplating whether stealing Altoids simply for the container was really 'stealing', technically. I mean, the altoids are the product, right? What if someone took the packaging off Oreos and left the cookies there??? Is that really stealing???

PAM (pre-adderall moment) Personally, I think that leaving ANY cookie or cake product behind is just plain stupid. There are times when something is WORTH being incarcerated for and being idiot enough to turn your back on Oreos SHOULD result in jail time. So, let me back off the cookie and cake example. It's one thing to debate the criminality-if any-of stealing Altoid packaging, but there should never be a debate of this kind regarding Oreos. I would give MYSELF life in prison for leaving an Oreo behind!

Back to the Altoids. I was going to continue the debate of 'what is stealing, really', as it relates to Altoids, but the fact I've thought it though THIS far is cause for concern as to my obsession with altering these little boogers.

I can't help myself. It's all I think about. To make this Mermaid, I paid a whopping 2.50 for a tin of altoids, only to dump them in a baggie as a weapon against occasional halitosis. Not that I cared about said halitosis...I just had to get my hands on an altoid tin!!!

My husband, who has survived this long by instinctively knowing when to shut up and when to stay shutting up, even remarked about this current obsession. After explaining that I intended to sell them on Etsy...maybe...he did some quick calculating and figured that, between the cost of the can, the swarovski crystals, the miniature sea horse and starfish, the G45 papers, stickles, combination Ferro Special Effects Paste/glossy accents/UTEE sand mixture and assorted shells, I'd have to sell this for about 97 dollars to break even. Such was my shame, I actually admitted he was right and thought about 12 stepping it. "I have no power over the overwhelming urge to alter Altoid tins and my life has become unmanageable."

As I continue to work the steps to deal with this obsession, (which one is it where I get to tell people EXACTLY what I think about them??? Actually, that may not be a step. But I may add it to mine) it's my hope that while I may never beat this addiction, I can certainly recognize it for what it is and proceed with caution.